http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DzlItem521.jpg[[caption-width:160:Doesn't that jack of hearts remind you of [[WesternAnimation/WackyRaces Dick Dastardly]]?]]MerrillHeatter-Bob Quigley GameShow which premiered on Creator/{{CBS}} in 1972, on the same day as ''Series/TheJokersWild'' and ''Series/ThePriceIsRight''. Two couples played blackjack while answering knowledge questions asked by host Wink Martindale. Very few episodes are known to have survived.

Martindale returned as host of the successor series, ''Las Vegas Gambit'', on Creator/{{NBC}} in 1980-81. A decade later, Bob Eubanks was the host of a ''Gambit'' pilot for Creator/{{ABC}} in 1990, with solo contestants and a different question format; ABC rejected it in favor of a ''Series/MatchGame'' revival. GSN attempted a revival in 2002 with three solo players and Ron Pearson as host under the name ''[[http://www.usgameshows.net/x.php?show=Casino Casino]]'', but turned it down for ''Series/{{Cram}}'' and ''Series/FriendOrFoe?''

With some slight tweaks, the essence of the ''Casino'' format finally made it to Creator/{{GSN}} from 2008-11 as ''Catch 21''. The show was hosted by [[Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir Alfonso Ribeiro]], one of the few black game show hosts, and marked the return of not only ''Gambit'' but Heatter, who had not gotten a game on the air since ''The Last Word'' ended 18 years earlier.----!!GameShowTropes in use:* BonusRound:** The Gambit Board, where the winning couple picked numbers for prizes or cash, and was given a card after each pick. The couple could stop whenever they wished, as going over 21 would forfeit the prizes they had uncovered, but hitting 21 in any way won a growing cash jackpot plus a new car (original series) or $5,000 cash (''Las Vegas Gambit''). This format was used for the entire CBS run and the first five months or so of the ''Las Vegas Gambit'' version.** Around May or June 1981, this was changed to the Gambit Galaxy — the former ''Series/HighRollers'' bonus round. The objective was to, through rolls of two dice, remove the numbers 1-9 from a gameboard; successfully doing so won the Gambit Galaxy (an accruing prize package), while a bad roll — a number that couldn't be removed from the board — ended the game with [[ConsolationPrize $100 given for each number that had been eliminated]]. Rolling doubles awarded an insurance marker; if the couple hit a bad roll, they could turn it in and keep playing.** ''Catch 21'' used three hands with one card dealt to each and the contestant directing the subsequent cards to any column they wanted. Getting a 21 awarded $1,000 for one column, $5,000 for two columns, and $25,000 (sometimes $50,000) for all three columns...but busting at any time ended the game.* BonusSpace:** The pre-"Gambit Galaxy" bonus round often included hidden spaces on the board that gave the players a chance to win extra money in different ways, as long as they didn't bust.** Beginning in Summer 1975, the show instated a special rule where any couple who hit a two-card 21 at any time won a $10,000 bonus.* GoldenSnitch: A score of 21 was an instant win, awarding $500 plus $500 for every show (every game on the NBC version) not won. This was also picked up in the endgame.** Also applied to ''Catch 21'', minus the progressive jackpot. However, from Season 2 onward there was a bonus prize awarded to the first player (if any) to make a 21 in the main game.** Round 3 of ''Catch 21''. The first two rounds were played with ScoringPoints, at 100 per question and 500 for winning the hand. The third round wiped the scores of the last two players, and the winner of that hand (no ScoringPoints here) won the game. A player could get totally [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] in the first two rounds, but as long as their other opponent got curb-stomped worse (100 points vs. no points at all, for example), the guy who barely survived to Round 3 could win with one correct answer at just the right time.*** You didn't even need a correct answer as long as you could pull a 21 off your opponent's freeze. You read that right: once one player froze, the other player was dealt cards with no more questions asked until they won or busted. This only applied to ''Catch 21'', though — in ''Gambit'', you had to continue answering questions to keep getting cards; one wrong answer lost the round.* Personnel:** TheAnnouncer: Kenny Williams on the CBS and NBC runs.** GameShowHost: Wink Martindale on the CBS and NBC runs, Alfonso Ribeiro for the GSN era.** LovelyAssistant: Elaine Stewart (Mrs. Merrill Heatter) on the CBS run, Beverly Malden and later [[Series/SaleOfTheCentury Lee Menning]] on the NBC run, Mikki Padilla on ''Catch 21''.** StudioAudience----!!This show provides examples of:* CheatersNeverProsper: The finale of ''Las Vegas Gambit'' had a couple who tried to take advantage of Wink failing to hear their answer to the question "From what direction do the east winds blow?" They initially responded "west to east", after which Martindale asked them to repeat the answer; the couple, knowing they had given the wrong answer, tried to take advantage by changing their answer...but the judge ''did'' hear the original response and signaled to Martindale, who immediately ordered them — not too kindly — to "say what you said", to which the couple did.* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: During an episode of the GSN era, one contestant was caught between a rock and a hard place in Round 2 — Player 3 froze with a 20, making 21 the winning score. The middle player had 19 and the first player had 16. The middle player drew a 5 and had two choices — bust himself, eliminating himself from the round and holding out a hope that Player 1 busted as well, or give the 5 to Player 1 so his 16 becomes 21. Player 2 busted himself and Player 1 wound up getting a 5 '''anyway''', getting 21 and eliminating Player 2 from the game. Poor guy had no chance.* LargeHam: Alfonso Ribeiro.* LongRunner: The GSN era ran four seasons, a rarity for them — most of their games tend to stop at two seasons.* LuckBasedMission: In the bonus round of ''Catch 21'', there was nothing to back you up if the cards failed you and you ran out of power chips.* PorkyPigPronunciation: Wink once had some difficulty telling a couple they had won a copy of the World Book Encyclopedia.* ProductPlacement: The power chips on ''Catch 21'' were sometimes sponsored early on by Burger King. Often, the contestants said (and were likely instructed to say) that they would "have it their way" when using them.** In one of the episodes with the BK power chips, the question "If your husband is wearing undershorts marked ''Home of the Whopper'', which fast food restaurant did they most likely come from?" appeared in Round 1. Never mind that Burger King's never sold undershorts, and it's not quite sure how they got a BiggusDickus joke by the censors anyway...* TitleDrop: You didn't hit 21 on ''Catch 21'', you "catch 21 exactly".* VivaLasVegas: ''Las Vegas Gambit'' was taped at the Tropicana Hotel.----